Civil rights leader Andrew Young (L) and others on balcony of
Lorraine Motel pointing in direction of assailant after assassination of Dr.
Martin Luther King, Jr., who is lying mortally wounded at their feet. Joseph
Louw—The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images
Dr. King arrived in Memphis on
April 3rd to speak in support of the city's striking sanitation workers. He
spoke at the Mason Temple that night and delivered his famous "I've Been
To The Mountain Top" speech. Perhaps he had a premonition because he
closed his speech by talking about the threats he had received and that he
wanted to live a long life, but if the Lord had decided otherwise, he was fine
with that.
King had begun redirecting his
passionate Civil Rights campaign to a campaign that was inclusive of all poor
people. He didn’t feel the promises of the United States had yet to be
fulfilled in Civil Rights, though, and in his speech, he demanded the United
States live up to the ideals and promises made in the preamble to the
Constitution and in the Bill of Rights. His speech was filled with parables and
was a call for economic justice.
Dr. King and his party spent the
night at the Lorraine Hotel. He intended to have dinner with a friend and
fellow minister. He had come out on the balcony of his room and was speaking to
his chauffeur when the fatal shot was fired from a nearby rooftop.
King was rushed to St. Joseph’s
Hospital, where he died during emergency surgery. King’s death led to anger and disillusionment,
with a feeling that now only violence could solve the problem of inequality and
White supremacy. While King’s peers such as Reverend Ralph Abernathy called for
calm and non-violence others like Black Panther leader Stokely Carmichael called
for armed resistance. Riots exploded in cities across the country. Fortunately,
these riots ended rather quickly and had little loss of life or property
compared to the civil unrest of 1965.
The career criminal James Earl Ray
was arrested in London on June 6th, 1968. He had fled Memphis to
Atlanta and Toronto and then London. He initially confessed to the assassination
but later recanted. Conspiracy theories grew instantly and were eventually accepted
by the King's family. While there is a great deal of evidence and reason to
support the idea of a conspiracy, no real investigation has ever been initiated by
authorities. Ray received a life sentence of 99 years when he was convicted of
the killing.
A private funeral for King's
family and closest associates was held at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta.
Afterwards, as many as 100,000 people accompanied the mule-drawn coffin and
funeral procession through the city to Morehouse College. Among the mourners
were Ethiopian leader Halie Selassie, Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall,
Robert Kennedy, and Richard Nixon. UN Ambassador Ralph Bunche. Civil Rights
leaders such as John Lewis, Stokely Carmichael, and Rosa Parks. Celebrities
such as Paul Newman, close King family friends Harry Belafonte, and Sidney
Poitier. Actor activists Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Diahann Carroll, Eartha Kitt
and Dick Gregory. Over a hundred elected leaders and famous individuals
attended the public funeral, with over 50,000 mourners.
